About
this book:

The Art of
War is an ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu, a
high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician. The text is
composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of
warfare. It is commonly known to be the definitive work on military
strategy and tactics of its time. It has been the most famous and
influential of China's Seven Military Classics, and "for the
last two thousand years it remained the most important military
treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name."
It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking,
business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.

The book
was first translated into the French language in 1772 by French
Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English
was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905.
The first annotated English language translation was completed and
published by Lionel Giles in 1910. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong,
General Vo Nguyen Giap, Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini, General Douglas
MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from
the work.

Sun Tzu
considered war as a necessary evil that must be avoided whenever
possible. The war should be fought swiftly to avoid economic losses:
"No long war ever profited any country: 100 victories in 100
battles is simply ridiculous. Anyone who excels in defeating his
enemies triumphs before his enemy's threats become real".
According to the book, one must avoid massacres and atrocities
because this can provoke resistance and possibly allow an enemy to
turn the war in his favor. For the victor, "the best policy is
to capture the state intact; it should be destroyed only if no other
options are available".

Sun Tzu
emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy. The
decision to position an army must be based on both objective
conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of
other, competitive actors in that environment. He thought that
strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an
established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate
responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled
environment; but in a changing environment, competing plans collide,
creating unexpected situations.

(source:
Wikipedia)

About the author:

Sun Tzu
was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher
from the Zhou Dynasty. He is traditionally believed to be the author
of The Art of War, an extremely influential ancient Chinese book on
military strategy. Sun Tzu has had a significant impact on Chinese
and Asian history and culture, both as an author of The Art of War as
well as through legend.

During the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Sun Tzu's The Art of War grew in
popularity and saw practical use in Western society. His work
continues to influence both Asian and Western culture, politics,
business, and sports.

(source:
Wikipedia)

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